Love and Family | Port Orthos 4

chapter 12: harlow's scheme

chapter 12: harlow's scheme

~harlow~

       "So how exactly is this going to work?" Kaylee says. "Will starting a rumour that Kiro is mad about the list really be enough to scare someone into confessing or deleting it?"

       "It can work," I say. "Everyone knows how protective Kiro is of Fern. If we start a rumour that Fern is upset about the list, everyone will probably expect Kiro to do something about it."

       "That's fair, I guess," Kaylee says. "So if we're going to start a rumour, we need to get as many details sorted as we can. Would Fern be upset because she's low on the list or because the list is hurting the self-confidence of other people?"

       "Uh..." I think about the answer. I never looked at the list long enough to know where anyone places, so I don't know if Fern is low enough to be upset about it. She hasn't looked at the list either, so I can't ask her.

       I look at Kiro. "What?" Kiro asks.

       "We need to find out where Fern is on the list," I say.

       "Okay, so why are you looking at me?" Kiro asks.

       "Because I refuse to look at the list," I say. "I don't want to know where anyone else places because I don't want to feed into it."

       "Same here," Kaylee says. "I don't want to accidentally see my own name on the list if I look for Fern. But if you look at the list and just so happen to see our names, you can keep it to yourself and we can stay in the dark."

       Kiro sighs as he grabs his phone to look at the list. I know he doesn't want to look at it either, but since he's a guy, he's not on it. He won't have to worry about seeing his own name.

       The moment Kiro finds Fern's name on the list, he says, "Fifty-second? Who the fuck would rate her fifty-second? She should be first."

       "Of course you would think that since you're madly in love with her," I say.

       Kiro laughs sarcastically before he glares at me. "I told you to not bring that up around anyone."

       "Oh, relax, Kaylee isn't going to tell Fern," I say. "You don't have to worry."

       Kaylee furrows her eyebrows. "Is that supposed to be a secret? I'd assume that anyone would be in love with their girlfriend."

       "That's the funny thing," I say. "Kiro and Fern aren't dating. They're just besties."

       "Seriously?" Kaylee asks. I nod. "Huh. Could have fooled me."

       "Could have fooled everyone," I say. So many people at school think that Kiro and Fern are a couple and are shocked when they find out that they're not. 

       I have to be honest, I do hope they end up as a couple eventually. I don't know if Fern has feelings for Kiro and hasn't told anyone or she hasn't realized she has feelings for him. Or maybe she just doesn't. 

       But I know that if Kiro and Fern end up dating, Kiro will treat her extremely well. He already does and he's just her best friend.

       "Alright, we can move on from this," Kiro says. "We can go with both options. That Fern is upset she's low on the list and that the list is lowering a lot of girls' self-esteem."

       "Got it." Kaylee grabs her phone. "There are some girls on the cheerleading team who are huge gossips so I'm going to start the rumour in our group chat."

       "Ooh, smart thinking," I say. "It will spread like wildfire that way." Even though Kaylee has told everyone on the team not to talk about the list whenever we're in practice, I still hear the conversations, just when Kaylee isn't in earshot.

       "I'll tell Fern about the details of the rumour too," Kiro says as he texts Fern.

       "Is she okay with it?" Kaylee asks.

       "Yeah, we already talked to her about it," I say. "And she already is upset about the list since she disagrees with it. She just ignores it, but she'll gladly act sad at school to help with the rumours."

       As Kiro and Kaylee are texting, my great-great aunt Cecelia walks over to us, setting down a plate of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. "Aunt Cecelia, you don't always have to give us cookies when we don't order it," I say.

       "I know," Aunt Cecelia. "I thought you could use them as a pick-me-up. Your dad told me you've been upset because of some sexist list at school."

       I sigh. "Yeah, it's been hard going to school because of it. But the three of us are working on a way to hopefully get the list taken down."

       "Well, I hope your plan works," Aunt Cecelia says. "I'm surprised Fern isn't here with you."

       "You know twins don't have to do everything together," I say.

       "Oh, I know," Aunt Cecelia says. "I was talking about Kiro. He's always glued to Fern's side. Between you and me, I think he's in love with her."

       Despite saying 'between you and me', Aunt Cecelia did not say it quietly enough for just me to hear. Kiro huffs. "Does everyone know?"

      "Yeah, pretty much," I say. "Everyone but Fern. You're not subtle." Kiro scowls as Aunt Cecelia walks off with a smile. "Don't worry, no one is going to tell Fern. We're not like that."

       Kaylee grabs a chocolate chip cookie. "Your aunt makes the best cookies." She takes a bite.

       "I know, right?" I say. I pick up an oatmeal raisin cookie, one of my favourites. I like a lot of different flavours, but my aunt and uncle make the most amazing oatmeal raisin cookies.

       "Anything else we need to plan for the rumour?" Kiro asks.

       "I don't think so," I say. "We just need to wait for the rumour to start spreading, which it probably will be by tomorrow."

       Kiro stands up. "Great. I'm going home."

       "Your home or mine?" I ask.

       "None of your business."

       "If you're going to mine, at least bring some cookies for Fern."

       Kiro hesitates before he grabs a few chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, I knew he was going to my house to go see Fern. He really isn't subtle.

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i fixed my sleep schedule so i wake up around 11 am now woo. i start writing my updates when i get out of bed, but i have class today so i'm writing this in class lol.

it's my last class too :') i just have a final exam next wednesday and then i'm done with my degree! i've been in school for it for eight years so it will be weird to not go school lol.

anyway, pretty much everyone but fern knows kiro is in love with her lol. harlow, fawn, marius, forest, cecelia, winston, mary-anne. poor guy is not subtle at all.